As per sub-section (3) of Section 14 of the J.J. Act, a preliminary assessment in case of heinous offence under Section 15, shall be disposed of by the Board within a period of three months from the date of first production of the child, who is above age of 16 years. The Board shall conduct a preliminary assessment with regard to his mental and physical capacity to commit the offence with ability to understand consequences thereof and the circumstances in which, he, allegedly, committed the offence and may pass an order as per sub-section (3) of Section 18 of the J.J. Act, provided that for such an assessment, the Board may take the assistance of experienced psychologists or psycho-social workers or other experts. It is explained that for the purposes of this Section, preliminary assessment is not a trial, but is to assess the capacity of such child to commit and understand the consequences of the alleged offence. From the proviso referred to above, it is clear that the Board may or may not take assistance of an expert for such an assessment. Therefore, contention of the learned Counsel for the applicant that for want of assistance from expert, the preliminary assessment made by the Board in respect of the applicant, is not justifiable, cannot be accepted. {Para 5}
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